The latter article states that Phantom Menace will be re-released in theatres (and where there's one, two and three will follow). Does this mean that we could see a resurgence of prequel material in the brick? New gungan sub? More podracers? Flash speeder? Fambaa?

I can't believe Lego will be willing to put a grinning devil's face on the front of all their boxes.... not sure that's going to appeal to a lot of parents and it seems inconsistent with the Lego brand image. I love the current Rex trooper box art, it's iconic without drawing too much attention to itself. I'll probably stop worrying about collecting nice Lego boxes once Maul's leering mug is splattered across all of them.

onions wrote:StarWars.com revealed yesterday Lucasfilm Licensing’s new brand packaging to appear across all their licensees products for 2012, all in an attempt to get you to see Episode I all over again in 3D.

Yeah, I find the box art repulsive. I mean the clone art was at least subtle. The clone almost blends into the blue background (or at least I don't notice him). With this, everything has Darth Maul stupidly grinning at you. He's right there to say hello. The stuff prior to this was very color-coordinated. This is a black and red character over a calm blue background. Why does it have to be on everything?

What ever happened to Darth Maul being downplayed to not overshadow Vader? Now his ugly mug's pasted over every Star Wars product for an entire year? Ugh.

It's funny how different the responses are from those of the guys over at Eurobricks, who actually seem to like it.

Blacknight wrote:I can't believe Lego will be willing to put a grinning devil's face on the front of all their boxes.... not sure that's going to appeal to a lot of parents and it seems inconsistent with the Lego brand image. I love the current Rex trooper box art, it's iconic without drawing too much attention to itself. I'll probably stop worrying about collecting nice Lego boxes once Maul's leering mug is splattered across all of them.

GIR3691 wrote:Yeah, I find the box art repulsive. I mean the clone art was at least subtle. The clone almost blends into the blue background (or at least I don't notice him). With this, everything has Darth Maul stupidly grinning at you. He's right there to say hello. The stuff prior to this was very color-coordinated. This is a black and red character over a calm blue background. Why does it have to be on everything?

What ever happened to Darth Maul being downplayed to not overshadow Vader? Now his ugly mug's pasted over every Star Wars product for an entire year? Ugh.

My thoughts exactly, especially the devil. Maul was supposed to look fearsome in the first place - now they're expecting him to appeal to kids. (May this cause nightmares... )

As for Maul being downplayed, maybe they're not worried since a bunch of 8-year olds who are being stuffed with retcons weekly wouldn't know who Darth Vader is.

Did Maul even smile like that in Ep. 1? I remember him showing next to no emotion at all, which enhanced his mysteriousness ala Boba Fett. Maul is a cool character (for how long he was in the movie for), but overusing him reduces his coolness, again ala Boba Fett. Frankly, the more I look at it, Maul's expression in that art there looks downright creepy in a lecherous pervert kinda way, again not the best image to put on a toy box for kids.

While this picture isn't exactly from the movie, he did make faces like this during the battle. Part of his whole MO was causing fear in his opponent; smiling at them rather than showing anger or fear or even no emotion would be fairly unsettling. It says that he's in control, he just wants to play a little longer. The smile on the box art doesn't quite capture this look and is a terrible representation of his character.

For me box art is simply that. Box art. It's what's inside that really matters to me. I really don't mind Darth Maul being on the box. It's a good change from the Clones that have been dominating SW merchandise for the last few years. Plus this ties in well with Episode I coming back to theaters in 2012.

Are we 100% sure that Lego is using this art too? This photo is Hasbro's new art...but some of the comments mentioned that Lego would have to match...! That makes no sense to me. Why should Lego products look exactly like Hasbro ones?

On the subject of Maul...sigh. Another of Lucas' one-off throwaway characters to build mystique around and then kill off. Well, until it becomes convenient to ressurrect him......or not, as the case may be. In a Hasbro interview concerning this ridiculous art we were just looking at, they mention that an upcoming Clone Wars plot apparently involves the "search" for Maul by his brother. I started off as as huge Clone Wars fan, and it had its moments early on, but lately the series has devolved into silly directions that really don't seem to have much to do with Star Wars, to me at least! And now we have a clone (pun intended) of the under-used Episode I villain running around, looking FOR that dead villain??? Is there nothing new under the sun?It's sad, really.....now when I watch the original Star Wars, when Luke asks old Ben about the Clone Wars, I no longer will have that sense of wonder and mystery! Now I will cringe and go "oh...that mess." Sad, really!

samtheq wrote:Are we 100% sure that Lego is using this art too? This photo is Hasbro's new art...but some of the comments mentioned that Lego would have to match...! That makes no sense to me. Why should Lego products look exactly like Hasbro ones?

They have for the past several years. Hasbro and Lego shared the red/white design with the clonetroopers on the packaging, and they are currently sharing the blue design with a single clone. There was a blue and white design before that, and even before that a Vader centric design. Basically, Hasbro and Lego have shared packaging design since Episode III. So will Lego sets have this Maul art on them? Yes.

Also, in the interview in the Starwars.com link in the OP, since Maul is confirmed to return in the Clone Wars, this reinforces Maul's return is purely a marketing strategy. You've got the film front with Episode I 3D and the TV front with kids being introduced to Maul in the Clone Wars. It's a shame its such a terrible image of Maul. He should at least be in a wheelchair.

The box art is universal. It's not about Hasbro, it's what Lucas and his cronies (can't recall the actual trademark name for the compay) decide to colour-code, if you will, the entire Star Wars line. I'm sure it's part of the contract, although it seems the companies do have some leeway as seen with the 2009 10 Year Anniverary Edition packaging.